Alive In My Eyes
by crazytuts
Summary: A Mrs.Longbottom one shot. Melinda Longbottom, the mother of Frank and motherinlaw of Alice, denies the fact that Frank and Alice have been mentally damaged and fights against all the doubts coming her way. Read more to find out!


Alive in My Eyes

To a distant eye, there was a lot of pain and sadness filled in those wizard and witches' tears seated in front of the figures of Alice and Frank Longbottom, but there was a woman in the front row that did not have the look on her face that should have had.

Mrs. Melinda Longbottom's reached into her blotchy red handbag, her hands trembling, and grabbed a tissue. She did not need it for herself, but for the crying one and a half year old baby in her lap, who was giving her a confused stare, then changing his gaze to the scene before him, and finally weeping. Of course, he didn't have a clue about what had happened but Mrs.Longbottom did. In the hospital room, every single person's heart had sunk into grief but she knew better. Her son and daughter were fine.

She could almost hear Alice's sweet voice calling out "I'm coming, sweetie! Don't cry!" to Neville or Frank musing "Oh Mom, are we in such poverty that you won't let little Nevie change that dreadful hat, and while we're on the subject, yours too?" But he never meant it. Her Alice and Frank had always treated Neville like a prince and they wouldn't have left him for anything or anybody in the world, so why would they leave now? No. They had to come back. Never would they deny their son's wishes, and her son shouldn't deny her wishes either.

But they didn't. Both were there in body but not in mind, and not once did they call out to Neville or even acknowledge him as their son. They were walking corpses who lived just for the sake of living. Mrs.Longbottom still believed that one day Frank and Alice would come to their senses and hug and kiss Neville like never before.

A few days after the incident, she had met with one of the top certified healers in St.Mungo's and had heard these words from his mouth: "I am so sorry, Mrs.Longbottom, but this is unfortunately a permanent condition. Too much damage had addled their brains to revert the magic. Perhaps if someone had gotten there sooner, there might have been a chance to save them, but now-"

Neville exploded into a tantrum, pushing Melinda's arm away with unusual force and then biting her when she didn't budge. The Healer looked at the infant with sympathy, "He can stay her with his parents for a while if that will make him feel better."

Melinda slowly nodded, walking through the midst of crowds in the hospital and reaching the room in a daze. She placed Neville in Alice's lap, who contracted her eyes in puzzlement and then looked up, raising her hands in question. A dart struck Melinda's heart in an instant. Why was Alice refusing to recognize her son?

"Alice, dear, it's Neville. Don't be afraid."

Alice, with horror written all over her face, repulsed by driving herself to the other side of the bed, and shook her head, "No, no! I don't know who that is! What's wrong with it?"

"Him. He's Neville, your son." Melinda turned to her own son, who was also in amazement, "And yours as well. You have to remember for his sake and mine. I can't stand seeing you like this…" The tears still didn't come but the sadness had been planted in her heart. Her so-called denial phase was gone and had been replaced with gloom.

"I don't have a son." Frank also shook his head in the manner of a five year old, "And who is she?"

"That's your wife, Alice, and you're Frank Longbottom. I am your mother, Melinda Longbottom."

They both shook their heads. At that moment, her sister Enid opened the door to the room slowly and quietly. Melinda was not happy to see her. She would just be another woman who would try to make her understand the fate of her son and daughter, but she didn't want to understand.

"Melinda, what are you doing? Did you try to make Neville stop crying?" Enid, who usually had a bright smile on her face and a mature but vibrant orange dress on, had baggage under her eyes and fresh wrinkles on the corners of her lips. She took Neville from the bed and sat down next to Melinda, who wished that she would just go away and leave her alone with her family.

"Did you try talking to them? I just spoke to the Healer and he told me-"

"I know. I don't need to hear it again." Enid ignored her sister's icy voice and went on, "What are we going to do? I knew something like this was going to happen, I just knew it! I can't count how many times I told them to be careful. 'You have a child now' I said, but they didn't listen, the youngsters that they are. 'We're invincible as a team, Aunt Enid' Frank said, but see their invincibility now? Oh, this is horrible, just horrible. Oh god. Help us through this time!"

"What can he do? If anything, we'll be the ones to act. Frank and Alice have to fight back, and not just for their lives or for Neville's, but for the fight against darkness. Death Eaters did this to them and they'll be killed, I can assure you. My Frank is not one to just sit it out and let forces like that take over."

Enid gasped, "Don't say such things! The little one will hear!"

Enid is right, Melinda thought. Neville will hear all throughout his life about the darkness of Death Eaters and see the irreversible faces of his parents. The first question he will have will be "Where are my Mum and Dad?" But Melinda would not let that happen, because by then, they will be in perfect health. There was no known condition that could keep Frank in the dark, or Alice, for that matter.

"I have an idea." said Enid.

"What?"

"We should cast a Memory Charm on him so he doesn't remember all of this."

Melinda's eyes shot across the room to Frank, "Who, Frank?"

"No. I am speaking of Neville."

"My Lord, why?"

"So he does not remember any of this. Can you imagine what would happen if he found out that his parents are insane?"

Melinda stared blankly at the sky blue wall in front of her when she heard these bitter words.

"They are NOT insane."

"It is time to face the truth, my sister. They were tortured by Death Eaters and they will never be back to normal. Never will they be truly alive again. Why put Neville through all that pain and tears when he doesn't have to? He will understand when he's a bit older. We should put a Memory Charm on him. Even memories at this young age could come back to haunt him in the future."

Melinda finally acceded to this idea and saw Enid pull out her wand and pronounced, "_Obliviate_!"

He stopped crying for a bit. She looked at his beautiful face. Before, she saw him as an individual, a baby who cried more than normal babies and ate two big chicken legs at one time, but now, Melinda saw Frank. She saw Alice in him. It was as if both of them had transfused into one being, and that being was Neville. One day this baby would grow up to fight for his parents. He would always keep them alive in his heart just as she was.


End file.
